My first bad experience at my new job

So far, until today my orientation to my new job has been a positive experience. With the exception of not getting enough time to actually get hands on experience doing clinic and/or computer entry, it's been all good.

That is until today!

They have been revamping assignments and schedules, so the girl who is currently doing my job is going to be moving into the prep room next door to where she is now. She will be taking the lung cancer portion of one of the doctors with her and I'll be working with the lymphoma cancer portion of his patients.

So the girl is orientating me to the lymphoma aspect.

I was with her from 10:30 am until noon. Then from 1 pm until 2 pm. And all she did that entire time was either make phone calls to book patient appointments, look through the charts she has on the go and whip through the computer program doing this and that.

When I asked her how she got to a certain area of the program she replied...."Oh I'm just doing....<insert her task here>" She never stopped to show me anything. Finally I had to tell her that I have not had much computer time at all and that she's doing things that I have no clue about and I need her to slow down and show me. Better yet, to let me do the computer while she walks me through stuff! Her reply? There are lots of empty computers that you can go and log into and play around. I kept telling her that playing around and pretending to do things is not at all like actually doing it. Finally she let me do one thing!

Also, the entire time that I was with her all she did was rant and rave and complain and whine about practically everything. And when I say rant and rave, I mean just that. By the time I told her that I had to leave to go to another orientation in the basement, she was looking down right mad/angry.

Unfortunately I'm with her for the next 3 weeks on a daily basis!

If she is like that tomorrow I'm going to go and talk to the Resource Nurse and tell her that I'm not getting anything out of my orientation with her other than a headache and ask to be put with someone else.

She hasn't changed the fact that I love my new job. But I sure don't need to be sitting there listening her. I'm there to be orientated and to learn stuff that I'm going to need to know, and if she can't do that then they need to put me with someone else.

Sorry to read this. I don't know her obviously, but I get a vibe she's likely frustrated with mismanagement (inefficiency, bass-ackwards procedures and issues like that)

I once had to train a person under such conditions and it was frustrating because there was no way for me to justify all the mismanagement details (large, small and microscopic) to the new person. I might as well have said "Look Lillian (her name), first of all, you MUST understand this department is severely mismanaged with horrid computers and even more horrid spitefulness between departments and within departments" etc.

I think I actually blurted that out once or twice and she goes "Well, why don't they fix it?" or "Why don't you say something?" Yeah, as if I never said anything about things getting fixed. Quite the contrary. They probably wanted to sew my mouth shut. And in an office, I'm very "Occam's Razor" about everything. ....Lillian simply didn't understand the nasty office politics that went on there (I was there for years) and I dreaded to fill her in - it'd be like saying "Welcome to hell - where people shuck their responsibilities, try to get enemies fired, climb the ladder, focus on revenge, have very little integrity, hate showing up to work everyday" etc.

Ask her how long she's been there --it might give insight on why she is the way she is. If you feel bold, you might even consider asking "So it this place well-managed in your opinion?"

I agree that she could be frustrated with mismanagement. It is so common for people to take out their frustrations on others, and she may not be too happy to have yet another task, to train you. If it continues, I'd agree that you should ask to get a new person to train you.

Ugh. The worst thing at a new job is being put with someone that shouldn't be training. I'm sorry Linda...definately speak up if it continues

Don´t give up!.. ....this is part of the Challenge!...

for you!... ..

Bitterness and sour grapes have no place in training. But it sounds like her frustration is misdirected, and I'd see if I can't talk to her about it before requesting a change.

You just left an area where you were frustrated with mis-management, so perhaps you two can make a connection and open a door to her being more helpful and not taking out her frustration on you.